


Sore Muscles

by rayeliann



Series: A Small Fire in a Dark World [10]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Massage, Vaguely Smutty, its more like borderline smutty, mainly fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-08
Updated: 2015-03-08
Packaged: 2018-03-16 22:12:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3504611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rayeliann/pseuds/rayeliann
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hadynne helps Cullen work the tension out of his muscles after several particularly stressful days.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sore Muscles

Cullen was usually pretty good about knowing his limits, and knowing how far he could push himself before it started to wear. But some days were still a little worse than others. He felt it coming on in the tremor in his hand as he signed some requisitions. It was not yet dusk when the muscles in his back seized up. He pushed on, until he finished his work for the day, refusing to be defeated. Driven he liked to think it was. Strong. Stubborn, Hadynne called it. His knees ached, and a headache was lurking just on the edge of his vision. With an exhausted sigh, he sunk into the chair behind his desk.

“Thats all for today.” He told the soldier who had come to pick up his reports. The recruit nodded under his green hood, taking the armful of reports to be delivered to Leliana, Josephine, and the handful of Knight Captains Cullen relied on the most (Briony, Rylen, etc.).

The second the soldier was gone, Cullen started pulling at his gloves. His gauntlets hit the floor with a heavy clank as his arms immediately felt lighter. He pulled at the rest of his armor, enjoying the slow relief that accompanied a very literal weight being lifted from his shoulders. There was no dress code for the Inner Circle of the Inquisition, and he was not required to wear his armor every day. But he had gotten used to the weight of it during his time as a templar. Without it, he felt small, vulnerable… exposed.

Cullen closed his eyes, enjoying the quiet that came at the end of a long day. His muscles still ached, and he wasn't entirely sure he could pull himself back up out of his chair again, but he had accomplished something today, and that much felt good. The brush of a chilly night wind drifted through the nearest window, and it licked at his thin cotton shirt and rough breeches. The cool air felt good, and he allowed himself this moment of peace.

After countless long moments in glorious silence, Cullen heard the door to his tower creak open again, and someone shuffled in.

“Whatever it is, I will see to it tomorrow.” he remarked gruffly, barely turning to direct his voice over his shoulder. He did not bother to open his eyes to see who it was, until he heard the slightest snicker in response, and the shuffling drew closer.

Hadynne was standing in front of him now, her auburn hair falling out of her braids and trailing down her long, pale neck. She had her shoes in one hand, and her bare feet poked out from beneath where the long hem of her dress had pooled on the floor. She was wearing a long, dark blue mage robe that was open in the front like a jacket over a thin, gossamer dress in a shade of the palest blue.

“Oh! It’s you! I mean, Inquisitor!” Cullen said, rushing to check that he was presentable at the same time he started to rise from the chair. Hadynne stopped him with a gesture- so simple, she just raised her hand, the hint of a smile on her lips.

“Hadynne.” she said, correcting him. She’d told him several times to use her name, they were together, he should be able to use her name… and yet, when she caught him unaware, he still fell back to that old habit.

“Hadynne.” Cullen echoed in a low voice, and he had to admit, he liked the sound of her name on his tongue. Her dark eyes slid over his armor strewn about on the floor before fixing back on him.

“It’s worse today?” She asked lightly, her eyes going soft as they searched his face. Cullen felt his ears go red, and he looked away from her, to the floor. He still could not help but feel ashamed by weakness - any weakness. He knew Hadynne didn’t see him that way, but it was hard to fight years of Templar training. Bottle things up. Push any weakness deep down inside where no one can see it or exploit it.

“Nothing I cannot endure.” Hadynne sighed heavily at his response, dropping her shoes to the floor and shrugging off her robe in one fluid, graceful motion. It fell away, exposing her pale shoulders, sprinkled with a few stray freckles, and wide, triangular straps at the top of her pale blue dress. Now free, she drew closer to Cullen, stepping between his outstretched legs. She ran her fingers through his hair, rumpling it, and tracing slow circles against his scalp. Cullen allowed his eyes to fall closed, and his head to lean into one of her small hands. Her fingertips found their way to his temples, kneading softly.

But her perpetually warm hands did not stop there. Fingers looped around his ears, trailing down his neck, sneaking just under the collar of his shirt, and meeting on his spine. Cullen felt goosebumps rise on his skin as Hadynne slid her hands over his broad shoulders, digging her fingers into the muscles and seeking out knots and stress. A low groan of relief tore itself from Cullen’s chest as Hadynne aggressively dug her fingers into his shoulders and the tops of his arms.

Hadynne trailed her hands down each of Cullen’s strong arms, digging her fingers into the corded muscles patiently and methodically. As she finished the second arm, Cullen’s fingers caught hers. His golden eyes caught hers, and beamed gratefully. His look was one of pure worship, his eyes trained on Hadynne’s pretty face as she flushed under the scrutiny.

“Thank you. Hadynne.” Cullen said softly, squeezing her hand as his mouth curled into a smile.

“You aren't done Commander. Sit still.” Hadynne instructed as she dropped his hand, sinking to her knees on the floor. Cullen’s stomach dropped nervously, eyes opening wide as he straightened in his chair in alarm.

Hadynne sat back, settling into a sitting position on the floor, her dress settling around her in a little circle of ice blue. Hadynne started pulling at one of his heavy boots. Grinning in amusement, Cullen reached to help her. Once his boots had been removed, Hadynne resumed her massage, starting at Cullen’s ankles, and working up each of his calves, to the knee. Cullen allowed himself to relax back into his chair, humming contentedly. Stress of the past few days was melting away with Hadynne’s touch, and he could almost forget the lingering pain in his joints and bones.

Hadynne rose back up onto her knees, her hands on Cullen’s knees, sliding gently up over his thighs as she rose. He felt a mild alarm as her hands crept higher, but allowed her to continue. He took the time to admire her dark auburn hair as it escaped her braids in long, wispy strands. It was dark, impossibly dark against her pale skin, tickling her long, elegant neck. Unabashed, Cullen felt his gaze drop below Hadynne’s long neck, first lingering on her perfect collarbones, then sweeping over the swell of her breast as it pressed against the low, tight bodice of her dress.  Hadynne leaned forward, providing him with an improved view of her cleavage, and Cullen felt the breath in his throat catch as he let out a strangled breath.

Curious hands found their way around Cullen’s waist, Hadynne’s fingers digging hard into his hips, finding the often neglected sore spots in the center of his back, close to the base of his spine. Cullen gasped, letting out a low moan in of surprised relief at Hadynne’s discovery. Sometimes he thought she knew him better than he knew himself. He’d told her so, on multiple occasions, but she had smiled, waving it off with a, “I’m just observant. I notice things and I remember.”

Hadynne was on her feet now, her dress gathered in two handfuls at her knees as she slid her knees one at a time over Cullen’s thighs, climbing delicately into his lap to face him. She ran her hands up over Cullen’s chest, finding their resting place on the back of his neck.

“Hadynne…” Cullen mumbled, his voice hoarse as he struggled to strong two thoughts together.  “That…You…”

Hadynne grinned in response - Cullen’s stuttering, cracking voice apparently indicating that she had achieved her intended effect. Before he could string a full thought together, her mouth caught his, crushing his lips in a hot, hungry kiss.

Cullen allowed himself to get lost in Hadynne for a few short moments. The whisper of her hair tickling against him as she wound her fingers into his hair, pulling him closer. She smelled like flowers - not in a heady, floral way, but in a dark, woody way that reminded him of the plants they used to burn as incense… but lighter.

Hadynne was kissing him as if she had been thinking about it all day. Cullen knew he had been. There was a fire to her, and when she kissed him, he could swear he felt it all the way in his toes.

Hadynne was straddling him in his desk chair, the skirt of her dress pushed back to expose her shapely, pale legs just above the knees. Cullen’s hands somehow found their way there, wrapping around her legs, sliding up under the edge of the dress, along the outsides of her legs. He pulled her harder against him, enjoying the added pressure of her. He knew she could feel his rising excitement beneath her, as he could feel the heat of her pressing against him with little more than a few layers of clothing separating them now.

Hadynne allowed Cullen to break their kiss - as she always did. He suspected she did this on purpose, and he loved that she allowed him control, no matter how minor. When he finally pulled back, her face was flushed, and her already tight dress bodice strained against her heaving chest.

“Maker, you are beautiful.” Cullen whispered, taking advantage of the moment to look at her. Hadynne let an out-of-breath little chuckle escape from behind trembling, swollen lips.

This was enough for Cullen to pull her close again, trailing sloppy, biting kisses down her neck, and across her collarbone. His lips ventured further, following the strap of her dress over impossibly smooth skin.

With a shuddering little gasp, Hadynne seized him, nipping kisses at one of his earlobes as her hands wrapped around his strong shoulders. Her hips rocked forward against his own, and Cullen felt his fingertips dig into her thighs as he gasped in surprise. His body unconsciously responded to the action, his hips moving with hers, pressing hard against her. Hadynne felt a jolt of excitement run up her spine, and something deep inside her ached, begging for more. Enjoying Cullen’s response and curious to follow her body’s screaming demand for more, Hadynne repeated the motion, this time slower, arching her back as Cullen buried his face in her chest.

A loud knock on the nearest door tore the pair apart abruptly.

In almost perfect unison, Cullen and Hadynne both barked, “Not now!” in sharp tones at the door. At least the scouts had learned to knock.

Still, the moment was enough to restore Hadynne’s common sense, and she slowly found her feet, removing herself from Cullen’s lap. Her knees were shaky and her legs were weak, and she had to lean against Cullen’s desk for momentary support. He had risen just after her, and wrapped her in a tight hug, pinning her against the desk.

“Shall we head upstairs my lady?” Cullen murmured against Hadynne’s hair with a wry smile to himself. At least up there, they would not run the risk of someone walking in on them.

“Oh, I think so.” Hadynne replied quickly, not bothering to mask her eagerness.


End file.
